The Case of Two Piercings
by Andrew The Cyborg
Summary: Weiss' Necklace goes missing and Team RWBY consult famous detective Alexander Frost. After the case is solved, things go south and Alexander asks for help in solving a homicide. May contain scenes of violence and references to gore.
1. Chapter 1: A strange Beginning

**I've taken a break from writing my Team OPAL series and have decided to do something a little bit different.**

**I have recently begun reading the Sherlock Holmes stories and watching a little Death Note and I have concluded that detectives are AWESOME. So here's something that didn't take me too long to come up with. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1: A Strange Beginning

It was a blistering day in summertime, and on a certain street in Vale, four certain girls, each sporting their own distinct crests and colours, purposefully made their way down to a certain house on this certain street. At the forefront of this group of young ladies was a seemingly pompous girl dressed almost entirely in white, with hair to match. Behind her stood a slightly shooter girl in a red hood with black accents. Behind her stood a taller girl with long, blonde hair (apparently one who was not afraid to display hints of her somewhat generous endowments) and tailing the group was a seemingly reluctant girl, appearing far more mature than the rest of her associates. The ladies names were Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna, respectively.

Miss Schnee was not usual herself today. She seemed in a bad mood, looking for someone to take it out on, yet showing apparent pomposity in the way she walked. Although, upon second thought, this does seem like her usual self.

"Okay", she said to the others scanning the door numbers to her right, "It's one of these. Professor Ozpin said Number 33".

The others followed her eyes. Number 25, Number 27…29…31…33!

"Here it is!" exclaimed Miss Rose.

"Yeah, thanks, Ruby" Miss Schnee replied "we can all read".

"Would you just calm down, Weiss?" Miss Xiao Long said angrily "We're only here because you lost a stupid necklace!"

"Yeah, Weiss!" added Miss Rose. "Quit being such a grouch!"

"Hey, I have every right to be angry!" Miss Schnee replied defensively. "That necklace was the last gift I ever received from my grandfather. And I didn't lose it, it was stolen!"

"Could _everybody_ just calm down?" interjected Miss Belladonna. "We're not gonna get anywhere by fighting each other".

Thus another quarrel was averted by Miss Belladonna. But not so effectively that it would avoid the immediate next one.

"Alright" sighed Miss Schnee "Ruby, ring the doorbell".

"WHAT? Why me?"

"Because you're team leader and you have to represent us."

"Hey, you ring the doorbell; you want your necklace back so bad!"

Miss Belladonna rolled her eyes. She leaned in between the two and pressed the button. The others looked questioningly at her.

"Ruby, you do the introductions. Weiss, you explain the case". Miss Belladonna was good at solving arguments.

The door opened and a young-looking man, perhaps early 20s, appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a suit casually with no tie and was leaning slightly on one leg.

"Good morning" he said in a voice that hinted a well-spoken accent that had not been used in years. "Are you here to see the detective?" He asked.

"Um…yes. Are you him?" Miss Rose asked. The man stood up straight.

"No, I'm Jason Karter, his… associate. I live on the ground floor and help him on some cases. Come in". He opened the door completely and the girls filed in.

"This way" He said, heading up the stairs. "Frankly I'm glad you turned up. He's had nothing to do for a while, and you don't want to be around him when he's bored". They approached the door to the second floor.

"I feel I should warn you, he can be very…eccentric". He knocked on the door and a soft grunting sound came from within. Jason opened the door slightly and poked his head round. "Clients" He simply said. Another soft grunt. "So for crying out loud, put a shirt on!" Mister Karter added loudly. He turned to Miss Schnee, who was nearest to the door and raised his eyebrows in gesture. She and the other girls sent questioning look back. Jason poked his head around the door again, and promptly opened the door, and the girls followed.

* * *

The girls entered a state of bewilderment upon their entrance to the room. The first thing that was apparent was a set of crossbow bolts pinned to a crudely drawn target on the wall. Across from that was a large cracked mirror. On the small coffee table in the centre of the room was a blowtorch, a box of tissues, some burnt, and a hollowed-out orange, which looked similarly scorched. The chairs and settee in this room looked considerably better, possibly having seen a lot of use. Pinned to a corkboard between the windows, there were some maps and photos (Miss Rose recognised the map as one of Vale, and one photo of notorious criminal Roman Torchwick). There were also 2 computers of either side of the desk by the windows. There was something, or rather someone else on that desk.

The first time that Team RWBY set eyes on Alexander Frost, they were not quite sure what to think of him. They were not even sure that they had come to the right house. He sat cross-legged on a desk, his hands clasped to each other and pressed against his mouth. He wore no shoes, black trousers with coffee stains galore, and a smart navy blue shirt that looked like it had been unceremoniously thrown on in a matter of seconds beforehand (hence the interaction between himself and Jason a few mere seconds ago). He had brown, outrageously greasy hair and a fair amount of stubble. Even then, he must have been 21 years _maximum. _Surrounding him were piles of paper with scribbled notes, photographs, maps, file folders, documents (some marked CLASSIFIED), dossiers, newspaper clippings, magazine pages, blueprints and boxes more of such stuff. His crossbow was also leaned against him. After a few seconds of this strange encounter, Alexander dropped his hands and looked towards the girls. He placed his hands on the table and threw himself off it. The girls started back slightly.

"Alexander Frost, at your service" he said, nodding slightly while sending his eyes to each of the girls. Miss Schnee looked particularly surprised. She had met the unusual girl, Penny, less than a week ago, but this really was something else.

"Wait, you're Alexander Frost?" She exclaimed. She had obviously expected a more suave, higher classed, stereotypical detective. Someone normal.

Blergh.

"That is what I said" he replied. "To whom do I have the pleasure?" He asked, running his hand through his filthy hair. The girl in red stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"My name is Ruby. I'm leader of Team RWBY at Beacon Academy. These are my teammates". The others introduced their respective selves.

"Pardon me" said Weiss after they had all been introduced, "But I expected someone more…"

"Weiss…" growled Ruby through gritted teeth.

"Normal?" Alexander replied. The girls' eyes looked to him "Yeah. I get that a lot." His face brightened up. "Anyway. I'm a detective, you have a case, let the dog see the rabbit. Please, make yourselves comfortable. I'd offer you tea as well, but the kettle sort of… exploded". The girls threw a look to Jason, who shrugged his shoulders. The girls sat down in the armchairs and on the sofa.

"Thank you, Jason. I think you have something to do" Alexander said to him. Jason thought for a moment.

"Like what?" he said.

"Like that call to your girlfriend that you said you'd make last week". Jason went pale.

"Oh, hell's bloody bells!" he exclaimed before bolting down the stairs.

Alexander strode across the room and shut the door behind him. He turned to the girls and propped himself up against the table he was sitting on earlier.

"Weiss. I believe you're the one with the case. You did enter the room first, despite not being team leader, after all". She gave another surprised look, this time with a slight sense of admiration.

"uh… well" she began "to make a long story short, I have a necklace that is very important to me that has recently been stolen".

"mm-hmm. You're sure it's been stolen?"

"Absolutely. I put is on my bedside table one night, it was gone the next morning".

"And no-one else has had anything reported stolen?" he asked. The others seemed bewildered as to the relevance of this question.

"Well" Ruby said "not that I can think of". Alexander pushed himself up.

"Then our thief has made his first mistake" he said, grabbing a blue hoodie from inside he kitchen.

"What mistake?" asked Blake. She of all was interested now. She was a bibliophile and had read many detective stories. It had seemed exciting, meeting a real detective.

"They went into the building, heading straight for your dorm. You were specifically targeted for this theft, Weiss". The others looked at each other, seemingly impressed. Alexander tugged his hoodie downwards.

"Alright, let's go". The others stood up.

"Er…go? Go where?" asked Yang.

"Crime scene! Where else?" He replied, opening the door and holding it open for the others.

"Won't the staff have precautions against letting just anyone in?" Blake pointed out.

"I'm not just anyone. They don't have a problem with ex-students".

"Ex-students?" exclaimed Ruby, leaving the door.

"I was moved ahead, so I wasn't 17 when I joined, much like you" he explained, going after her.

"So they should just let you in?" asked Yang, once they were outside.

"Exactly. Ozpin owes me a favour anyway. After I solved a…delicate…matter for him".

"What matter?" asked Ruby.

"I did say it was delicate". He said. The girls took this as a way of saying that it was private.

* * *

Eventually they all reached Beacon. Although on the way there, thanks to some conversation, observation and deduction, Alexander had already built up a profile of each of the girls in his head.

Ruby Rose: 15 years of age. Younger sister of Yang Xiao Long. Regular milk drinker; has a sweet tooth favouring cookies and strawberries. Uses a scythe-sniper rifle hybrid. Hobbies include listening to music and socialising. Has a fascination with weapons. Possibly has one dead parent.

Weiss Schnee: 17 years of age. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Trained in fencing. Favourite hobby: Singing. Uses a Multi-Action Dust Rapier. Detests the White Fang organisation. Shortest by far of Team RWBY – uses high-heeled shoes to hide this. Cause of facial scar: Unknown.

Blake Belladonna: 17 years of age. Cat Faunus. Was in the White Fang for some time prior to enrolment to Beacon. Favourite hobby: Reading. Uses a sword with detachable blade. Possibly maintains contact with one or more members of the White Fang.

Yang Xiao Long: 17 years of age. Older sister of Ruby Rose. Protective of hair. High strength. Uses Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets in combat. Hobbies include socializing and listening to music (favors boy-band _The Achieve Men)._ Unknown reason for different surname from Rose – "Yang Xiao Long" may be an alias.

Though he had managed to observe conversation, he tried to stay uninvolved in the ones involving the White Fang. He thought it would be better if Weiss did not find out that he was a sympathizer to their cause.

Now that that was settled, they made their way toward the dorms. They were most of their way there when someone appeared from the other side of the door to the dorm room.

"Hey, Jaune!" Ruby said.

"Hey Ruby" He said. "Who's this? I haven't seen him around before". Ruby turned to Alexander.

"Oh, he's not a student here. This is Alexander Frost, a private detective. Mister Frost, this is Jaune Arc, a friend"

"Whoa, Alexander Frost? I heard that you busted an entire White Fang cell in Mistral!"

Alexander reminded himself.

"It was a long time ago" he replied. He couldn't turn down every case connected to the White Fang, or people would get suspicious. Those who didn't fear the White Fang hated them. Alexander looked at the boy in front of him, putting his fabled skills to work.

Jaune Arc: 17 Years of age. Uses a standard sword and shield in combat. Has suffered from bullying and social anxiety. Used forged papers to obtain a place at Beacon.

Alexander decided that he had better not reveal that last one. Jaune's scroll buzzed and he had to take a call. Alexander remembered scrolls. He probably has his own one somewhere.

The 4 students and Alexander entered the dorm room, expecting to find nothing there, but then they found something. Weiss' necklace was back on her dresser.

"It seems we've wasted your time" said Blake.

"This is impossible! I put it right here, in this exact position the night it disappeared!" She exclaimed.

"You're sure?" Alexander asked.

"Positive" answered Weiss. Alexander was baffled. Weiss, meanwhile, Weiss was putting her necklace back on. Nothing unusual here. Well, maybe one thing; where the object in question had gone. Suddenly 2 figures appeared in the door. One was pinching the other by the ear, while the other was squealing and trying to get away.

"Pyrrha…" pleaded the shorter one.

"Weiss" said the upstanding one, ignoring the protests of her victim, "I think someone owes you an explanation. And an apology".

After a few minutes, all became clear. It turned out that, upon an impulse, the shorter girl, by the name of Nora, had, upon an impulse, "burrowed" the necklace with full intention of returning it. She had, however, used it in order to test a myth that the diamond in the centre of it was unbreakable by means of attempting to shatter it with a hammer. A series of apologies and angered words were exchanged, and the matter was almost resolved until Alexander received a phone call.

"Yes?" he began, "Hmm…I see. Where? Alright, I'll look into it". He closed the call and turned to the others, who were now looking to him. His face lit up and he beamed.

ALRIGHT! WHO WANTS TO SOLVE A MURDER?"

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**So what do you think? Chapter 2 will be up soon! Do leave reviews, they help me write better. When it's done, Don't leave spoilers there!**

**I'm aiming for a story in 3 parts, so the next chapter may come across as filler.**


	2. Chapter 2: An Unobserved Error

**Just to recap; Weiss' necklace has been found, Alexander Frost has been consulted on a homocide and has asked the others to join in on the investigation.**

Chapter 2: An Unobserved Error

As it turned out, most of those present did indeed seem interested at the prospect of solving a murder mystery. However, Pyrrha had effectively grounded Nora, meaning that she also had to stay behind. Weiss did attempt to use an excuse to get out of it, but was pressured by the others into it and so reluctantly accepted. So in the end, Team RWBY and Mr Frost all set out for the crime scene. However, upon their way out, Alexander was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Excuse me?" The voice said curiously. Its owner obviously didn't recognise him, but Alexander recognised the voice. It belonged to Professor Ozpin. Alexander turned on his heel toward him.

"Yes, _Professor?"_ He replied, with a slight smile. Ozpin looked surprised, and then smiled back.

"Alexander, I had no idea that it was you!" He said. The two approached and shook hands like old friends, for that was, in effect, what they were.

"It's good to hear your voice again" said the detective.

"Likewise. How is your service holding up?" he asked.

"Very well indeed. In fact, I happen to be on a case now" Alexander replied, turning to Ruby. Ozpin seemed interested.

"So these girls consulted you? Well, that does explain why you are on grounds unannounced" he remarked, peering over his spectacles.

"Well, that case is solved, but I just got word of a better one"

"Oh?"

"Yep – mysterious death. Always something to look forward to!" he remarked. Ozpin sighed.

Alexander," he said "I will never understand why you get so cheerful when bad things happen. Anyway, I shan't keep you. Go and enjoy yourself"

"I intend to!" he said, turning back again to leave.

"If you're taking anyone with you," Ozpin called, glancing at the girls, who were also filing away, "try to keep them out of trouble!"

"Of course!" came the reply as he turned out of a door. "…Laters!"

Ozpin turned to Ruby, who was tailing the group.

"Ruby, a word?" he asked. She nodded and the others acknowledged that they would have to wait a minute.

"What is it?" she asked curiously. Ozpin's tone grew serious and he began to half-whisper.

"That man, Mister Frost," he began, "be careful around him. He doesn't think like the rest of us".

"Yeah", she replied, "I got that part already" she said jokingly.

"That isn't what I meant. He was once a student here. He started at age 16, and turned down an offer to join at 15, making him the only student ever to do so. But have you noticed how he enjoys what he does? It isn't normal. He has no sense of danger – this I know all too well. It almost cost him his life more than once. Listen Ruby, You have no obligation to follow everything he does-do not be afraid to pull out".

"But what if the others don't want to leave?" she asked

"You're the team leader, so my advice is; lead your team. Oh, and one more thing…" he said, "It may not seem it now, but in the end, he may end up just like the people he follows. He all but admires them. Be careful" he said, and left.

Ruby felt like a huge weight had been put on her shoulders. Could Alexander really end up becoming a thief? Or even a killer? She now knew that she had to watch her step – her teammates depended on it.

* * *

Within the hour they arrived at the crime scene – outside the back door of some kind of shopping centre. A woman lay dead on the floor, face up. The was street sealed off, though Alexander had pulled some strings with a certain Inspector LaForge to see fit to let himself and the girls through, but at the sight of the body, Weiss had started to feel queasy and was standing against a wall with Yang, leaving Blake and Ruby with Alexander. When they reached the body, the forensic scientist gave them a run-down.

"Blonde female. Mid-20s, reported missing last night at 10 by a concerned date and the victim's family. The body was discovered by a boy on a paper round" he said.

"Well, it makes a change from being found by a dog-walker or jogger" said the detective. "Time of death?"

"9 PM, approximately, but I'll have to do a full most mortem to be sure. As for the murder weapon," he continued, drawing attention to part of the victim's neck "we found a single puncture in the left common carotid artery". This went straight over Ruby's head. Alexander, meanwhile leaned in, and dragged the victim's collar down. A second piercing was clearly visible.

"A second one?" asked the scientist.

"It would've taken us days to find that" commented LaForge.

"I'm not you, and I've seen this case before. Which is how I knew".

"Where have you seen it before?" asked the Inspector.

"On five other murders, 2 consecutive days, and then 1 day apart; that's the pattern. They were done in different areas of Vale, which is why you haven't seen this before I also imagine that there are victims that we haven't found. There was also one yesterday".

The Inspector looked amazed.

"So you know who did this?" he asked.

"No. That's why I'm still here" said the detective.

Ruby decided it was time to know what was going on.

"So, this was a murder?" she asked.

"Yep. Premeditated by the looks of it".

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" asked Blake.

"Someone has gone out of their own way to avoid being on security cameras" he said, looking around.

"Oh," said the girls in unison. Alexander stood up and walked to a yellow painted wall and rubbed his hand across part of the surface. The two police officers looked at him.

"Found something, Frost?" they asked. Alexander promptly turned back.

"Nope. Thought I did, but I didn't" He snapped off the gloves that Ruby hadn't seen him put on and addressed LaForge "Where did this woman work?" He asked.

"In one of the stores in the shopping centre. General supplies, from what I've heard".

"I'll have to review that security footage, then" Alexander said.

"From out here?" asked the inspector.

"No. From her store."

* * *

As far as the girls could tell, nothing interesting was found on the security footage. She had to call security on a potential shoplifter, told some youths outside her store to move along and refused to serve a Faunus customer (much to the apparent aggravation of Miss Belladonna). Other than this, there was nothing noteworthy. The next stop was the morgue, where Alexander and his friendly female coroner, Miss DeWitt, examined two other bodies, apparently with similar wounds and cause of death (Miss Schnee, once again, had forced herself to wait outside – apparently she does not agree with the sight of dead bodies). Blake seemed to understand this gibberish (as Miss Xiao Long had put it) and was able to translate for the other two present.

"The wounds seem to come from an injection from some kind using a tetrodotoxin". This was still to the bewilderment of the other two present. She said that she would explain when they were with Weiss. When they were outside, she did.

"The wounds are bites, probably a snake" she said. "Miss Dewitt thinks it was an accident".

"Seemingly. But I'm not convinced" Alexander said. "Why would a snake come this far into a city? The only type of snake that uses this type of toxin can't survive for unless it returns to its habitat every 24 hours" he said.

"What if this wasn't a snake?" asked Weiss.

"I don't follow" Alexander replied.

"Well, there have been rare cases of snake-based Faunus. Maybe one of those did it?" She asked.

"Even so," said Alexander, "The culprit would have to go to an energy-rich habitat to fulfil its natural resources to produce such high amounts of toxin…but with a greater time difference, say…48 hours".

"Wait…you said that there was a murder yesterday" said Blake.

"So…" said Ruby, "That means there will be no attack…tomorrow?"

"That seems to be the pattern. But where would they go to feed on a natural resource that's high in sugar content?" Alexander asked. The others wondered. Then Yang finally spoke up.

"Forever Fall! The tree sap there has hugely high levels of sugar!" She half-shouted. Alexander realised she was correct.

"So that's where the murderer is going tonight!" Ruby said. She had to admit, she was slightly excited by all of this.

"And so are we." said Alexander, "All right, what's the fastest route from Vale to Forever Fall?" he asked generally.

"North" Said Weiss. "It's North of the commercial district". Alexander was lucky to have such a quick-thinking team with him. He glanced at his watch. It was almost dusk.

"A fine day to leave my crossbow at home" he sighed. "I hope you don't mind being late for dinner, because we have to go Hunting".

* * *

**A/N: The plot thickens!**

**I have decided that this will now be in 4 parts as opposed to 3. The next will be a bit less hideous, and the culprit will be revealed in the 4th installment. Goodbye for now!**


End file.
